Intensifying divides among Catholic bishops are becoming increasingly apparent as preparations for the 2015 synod continue. More and more bishops are speaking about whether and how the church should improve its pastoral care of families, particularly for same-gender partners and their families.

Below, Bondings 2.0 provides a briefing on recent developments, and links are provided for more information, if desired.

African Bishops Meet

African bishops gathered in Accra, Ghana for a consultative meeting in advance of the 2015 Synod of Bishops. Convened by the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM), nearly fifty prelates discussed the state of family life on the continent and what African Catholicism offers to the synod.

Several speakers attacked marriage equality, including Cardinal Robert Sarah, prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments, who told those gathered marriage is “being attacked by all forms of ideologies” to “destroy the family in Africa.” There were repeated calls for Africa’s bishops to “speak with one voice,” reported Vatican Radio.

One voice not included in this African meeting, but which should be considered, is Uganda’s Father Anthony Musaala who is calling for a ‘Sexual Refugee’ program to aid LGBT people fleeing nations where they face elevated levels of violence and discrimination.

“Europe’s fractious and divided church looks set to play a key role when the synod convenes in October.”

As they had previously done, the bishops of England and Wales solicited input from anyone interested in responding to their online survey, though these results remain unreleased.

Switzerland’s bishops released a summary of 6,000 Catholics’ responses from 570 reports composed after parish conversations, saying overall that church teachings were “complicated, incomprehensible and idealistic.” On homosexuality specifically, spokesperson Walter Müller said most Catholics want formal recognition of same-gender relationships. He added that they:

“[W]ish the church and synod to take reality into account, and to stop defining it as inadequate, irregular, defective and wounded…Only a small minority of answers expressed the wish for a narrow observance of the church’s current doctrine with its strict discipline.”

German bishops, lay people, and theologians have echoed such sentiments in their calls for respect and for recognition of same-gender couples. After Ireland’s referendum in favor of equal marriage rights, Germany’s Cardinal Walter Kasper has said same-gender marriage matter should be the “central issue” of the synod.

France’s bishops reported on 10,000 respondents. The only information about their answers came from Archbishop Pierre-Marie Carré of Montpellier, vice president of the French bishops conference, who said Catholics in his country would like this consultation process to become regularized.

Belgium’sbishops said church teachings on the relevant issues are “hardly understood, even among churchgoing Catholics, and also not practiced,” admitting that a February survey was intended to gain ‘real’ results as intended by Pope Francis.

Poland’s bishops are, alternatively, resisting any of the frankness or close look at reality found in the above statements. These bishops claim recent survey results are “unanimous and unambiguous” that Poles oppose any reforms in Catholic teaching, reported the National Catholic Reporter.

Poland’s Archbishop Stanislaw Gadecki of Poznan directly refuted the merciful approach of Germany’s bishops, calling instead for those with “homosexual tendencies” to seek therapy. Gadecki chaired a recent meeting of Eastern European prelates in Slovakia, strengthening their opposition to any pastoral proposals for LGBT people or the divorced and remarried.

Interestingly, a government survey from March claims 75% of Polish Catholics desire reform because they disagree with the bishops’ teachings on sexuality. The church’s own information agency KAI reports 61% of people expect “significant changes in church teaching” from Pope Francis.

Joint African-European Seminar

Uniting African and Eastern European bishops, a seminar titled “The Joy of the Family” was held in Mozambique in late May to strategize for the synod, reported Aleteia. SECAM and the Council of Episcopal Conferences of Europe (CCEE) avoided LGBT issues in a closing statement, but several speakers negatively addressed the matter.

Archbishop Edgar Parra Pena, the apostolic nuncio to Mozambique, said Ireland’s passage of marriage equality was a “sad situation” that must be resisted. Cardinal Peter Erdo of Esztergom-Budapest, president of CCEE, indirectly attacked the pastoral proposals from Cardinal Walter Kasper and his German-speaking peers by rejecting experience as a locus of theological reflection.

Not all these developments are positive for LGBT advocates, as those bishops opposed to homosexuality and marriage equality organize against any positive changes in church teaching and practice. Some recent history provides an important lesson. At Vatican II’s outset, conservative factions operating under Cardinal Alfredo Ottaviani who tried to stem any and all change.

Thankfully, the Spirit intervened then, as now. The dialogue around once silenced issues and even the disagreements occurring among prelates are welcome signs. This is what Pope Francis has desired through this synodal process and it is the seeds from which reform and renewal will keep growing. The process itself is not the easiest and includes setbacks, but even before the synod begins progress has been achieved.

What matters most now is that pro-equality Catholics continue making their affirming voices known to Pope Francis, to the hierarchy, and to the entire People of God.

The opposing bishops in this article remind me of the people who opposed the way Jesus looked at things in his day. He was not afraid to say “it is said” BUT “I say.” He didn’t have nice words to say about those who lay burdens on others but don’t lift a finger to help them carry the burdens!! Even the pope’s indirect comments against Rome’s Pride Parade bring more than smiles to my face. I am reminded of Fellini’s movie, ROMA and the fashion show he put on in that film. A Vatican procession reminds me of a Pride Parade, with more than comparable elegance. Jesus called people out of their trees and tombs (closets). He recognized Zacchaeus as a son of Abraham and Sarah, and told bystanders to unBIND Lazarus. The Vatican reversal of the openness and acceptance of Jesus is not being tolerated by “the world that God so loved that he sent his only-begotten not to condemn but to proclaim Jubilee.” No one wants to be kept bound and in the tomb or up a tree or in a closet. And the people around the world are now proclaiming that. Thank you Ireland! THANK YOU JESUS! GRACIAS JESÚS! DZIĘKUJĘ JEZUS! Grazie Gesù! お客様にイエスをありがとう！MERCI JESUS! СПАСИБО Иисус! OBRIGADO JESUS! Danke Jesus! Ευχαριστούμε τον Χριστό! Kea le leboha JESU! 당신에게 예수님 감사합니다! And the same in every language.

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[…] Pope Francis appointed Sarah as the Vatican’s top liturgist in 2014. These are not the cardinal’s first or even worst negative words in relation to LGBT people. During the 2015 Synod on the Family, Sarah said the LGBT rights movement had “demonic origins” and compared it to Nazism and fascism. Bondings 2.0‘s Francis DeBernardo, who covered the meeting from Rome, deemed Sarah’s comments the Synod’s “most homophobic remark”. The cardinal previously said marriage equality supporters sought to “destroy the family in Africa.” […]

[…] held by bishops who want to improve pastoral care to marginzlized groups, and bishops who are content with the status quo. This active preparartion led columnist Michael Kelly in The Independent to claim the […]

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